


i got the mic (you got the mosh pit)

by tripleangst



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, mentioned Zach/Connor Brown, slight Mitch/Matt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 15:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10767318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tripleangst/pseuds/tripleangst
Summary: Mitch likes bad punk music, but Auston keeps going to live shows with him anyway. Also, Matt Martin may or may not be the lead singer of Mitch's favourite band.





	i got the mic (you got the mosh pit)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction. College AU, but takes place in April 2017. Title comes from Taking Back Sunday's “Timberwolves at New Jersey,” because when else was I ever going to use those lyrics in a title. Let me know if I’m missing a tag!
> 
> Featuring: Way too many random Leaf players in bands with terrible names.
> 
> Thanks to Jenny for letting me complain/read this to her xoxo.

It's 12:47 a.m. on a Wednesday. One of Mitch's favourite bands just finished playing a gig, but that doesn't stop him from driving with the windows down, blaring the album from the exact same band they’ve just listened to live for two mind-numbing hours straight.

Mitch is singing along to a fast-paced, metalcore/punk/whatever-you-wanna-call-it song. Auston couldn't understand what the band was singing inside, and even with just the two of them here, in Mitch's car, Auston still couldn't tell you. He nods his head along anyway because it makes Mitch’s dumb face smile.

“Dude, wasn't Kadri way sicker on drums than you ever expected? I was like, 'fuck, that's good.’ He’s so sick.”

Auston knows he's referring to the drummer of the band they just saw, but no, there's only one thing, or person, who Auston thinks is “sick” in the way Mitch means, and he's not always sure why. Mitch's hair is messy from the mosh pit that he somehow didn't get trampled in, and he's chewing and sucking on his hoodie’s drawstrings in a truly unappetizing manner. Auston is so into him.

“We gotta see when HitFight is coming. Can you check?” Mitch asks, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the wrong beat of the drums.

Auston no longer questions the names of Mitch's favourite bands. He dutifully pulls up Google and checks to see when HitFight is coming. “Looks like they're coming in two weeks.”

Mitch nearly slams on the breaks, but they're at a red light, so no one's about to die. “Dude. Let me see.” He grabs Auston's phone and stares at the screen. “And they're playing only twenty minutes from campus. It’d be during exams, but who cares. What if they wanted to hang out after? They're not that big and wouldn't say no to drink. Dude, what _if_?”

Auston doesn't like where this is going. “What if what?” 

Mitch hands Auston his phone back. “Matts, we have to go to that show. Will you come with me?”

Auston is indifferent about most things, but not about Mitch, unfortunately. “Yeah, sure. How much are tickets?”

“Twenty, but I got you.”

Auston feels a heat spreading in his chest, but he knows not to get his hopes up with Mitch. Their friendship is more important than Auston's dumb crush. Still, his words come out a little awkward. “Mitch, you don't have to, I've got my own money.”

Mitch smiles. “Nah, you come with me to all these shows. I know they're not your thing, but you like me so much to come anyway. I appreciate it.”

He knows Mitch is meaning it as a friend. Auston would never ever hint to Mitch that he likes him. As much as he can help it. He pretends to relax in his seat even when his mind is doing the exact opposite. “I just know shows are better when you've got someone to go with. Just performing my friendly duties,” Auston says.

Mitch's smile turns into a grin. At the next stop light, he reaches over and pulls Auston in by the back of the head to smack a kiss on his hair. “You're the best, Matts.”

Auston savors the hair kiss. Mitch does that a lot, so he's used to it. That doesn't mean he's immune to its effects.

Mitch drops him off at his campus apartment a few minutes later. “I'll text you when I buy the tickets, okay? You won't regret this show, Matts. Matt Martin is like a god on guitar and he's super fucking hot, too.”

“All right, sounds good. Bye.” 

Wait, what? 

Auston just shut his car door, so it'd be a dead giveaway if he opened it up and asked Mitch for a further explanation on this Matt Martin person. He walks into his apartment and doesn't even bother shutting the door all the way as he pulls up HitFight’s Facebook on his phone.

Their profile picture is three good-looking dudes, but Auston just needs to know one in particular. 

He goes to their About section.

James van Riemsdyk - drums  
Tyler Bozak - bass  
Matt Martin - guitar; vocals

Oh, duh, Mitch said he played guitar.

He goes back to the profile pictures to look for live performance photos of the band and sees Matt Martin singing against the microphone, strong, not giving a fuck, and yeah, super fucking hot. Three things that Auston is not.

Well, okay, he is strong. Auston and Mitch are on the same college hockey team. That's how they met. But he's got a feeling this Matt guy likes to hit people, would check someone on the ice pretty bad if he wanted to—his band is called HitFight for fuck’s sake—and that's not Auston's thing.

**From: Marns  
Got the tixxxxx ;D**

Great. 

He says hi to his roommate Zach when he walks further into the apartment and flops on his bed like the sorry sap that he is.

It wasn't always like this, Auston pining over Mitch. They used to be best platonic buds, but then Mitch had to kiss him at Brownie's End of Semester Party in December and Auston hasn't been the same since.

It should be noted that Mitch was super drunk at the time. Auston had dragged him to Connor’s room, figuring he wouldn't mind if Mitch passed out there. He'd given Mitch a glass of water but Mitch was too lazy to hold the cup himself, so Auston held it for him and let Mitch sip.

“You're going to need to drink more than that,” Auston remembers saying.

Mitch had pushed the cup away and just stared up at Auston. “Come 'ere, I want to tell ya somethin’.”

Auston did think for a moment that this was how two people looked when they were about to kiss, but he didn't think anything of it until Mitch’s lips were on his and he tasted like straight up vodka and whiskey.

Auston had trouble breathing. He yanked his head back hard. “Dude, what?”

Mitch’s eyes darted away from him, but he laughed to himself. “Maattttyyyy, sorrryyy. I'm really drunk, forgive me. Go enjoy the party.”

Auston knew Mitch just needed to sleep, so he had set the water down on the nightstand and exited the room as quickly as he could.

His heart was still beating hard when he went to grab a beer, and he can't remember the rest of the party, because all he could think about was Mitch's lips on his.

After that night, Auston had wanted to talk to Mitch about the kiss, if he meant something by it or not, but the next time they all hung out after practice, Mitch was in Willy's lap, making out. 

So, obviously, he didn't mean anything by it and doesn't like Auston. That much Mitch made clear.

Now Auston just sulks about What Could Have Been, plays his most competitive hockey, and tries to do well in school or something.

Zach throws a pillow at him while he's in the middle of deep, pitiful thought.

“Hey, I asked how the show was. But I guess I should be asking how Mitch is,” Zach says.

Auston doesn't need to look at him to accurately throw his pillow back in his face. That gets Zach to laugh. He's a history major, so of course he wants exact details of every event ever.

“The show was fine. I couldn't hear anything, because Mitch wanted us right up against the speakers.”

“He's going to have to pay for your hearing aids one day, buddy. Why do you let him drag you out all the time?”

It pains Auston to even have to give Zach _the look_.

Zach sighs. “I know, I know. But you deserve to like someone who likes you back. Someone who will play video games with you and suck your dick. It’s been so long, Auston.”

“I don't need to hear how your hang out with Brownie was, thanks.”

Zach snickers and goes to sit at his computer desk. “Just tell Mitch how you feel at least. It's painful watching you two together.”

“Sorry I didn't take your feelings into account, Zach.”

\---

Ripped skinny jeans? Check.

Band T-shirt that _isn't_ of the band Mitch is about to see? Check. Black zip-up hoodie? Check.

“Carelessly” tossed hair that was actually fixed about four times? Check.

Is Mitch forgetting something? 

A knock at his dorm room door makes him jump and forget to run through the rest of his brain's check list. He opens the door and is greeted by an Auston Matthews. Like he needed another distraction.

Mitch smiles and pulls Auston into a half hug. “Hey, Matts! You're early.” 

Hugging Auston was a mistake, because now Mitch has Auston's scent in his space. He smells great and it makes Mitch simultaneously energetic and sad.

Auston smiles despite Mitch's inner sadness. “Yeah, thought I'd be early for ya. These guys are a big deal to you, right?”

Mitch shrugs, trying to play it cool. He may or may not have DM’d Matt Martin on Twitter the night before, asking if HitFight would consider playing “Face Fuck” tonight. Matt had sent him back a winky face. So, yeah, Auston, it's a big deal. But Mitch is still having trouble getting over Auston and his floppy hair, so he doesn't want to mention Matt in case it makes Auston jeal--

Mitch clears his throat. “Yeah, I mean, it'd be cool to talk to them after the show. Was chatting with the lead singer on Twitter and they might play one of my favorite songs, so,” he says, not quite looking at Auston. 

Auston raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Mitch shrugs, playing with his hoodie zipper, wanting to check his hair one more time. “Yeah, I asked if they'd play 'Face Fuck.’” He looks at Auston now. “It's a song about someone being a fuckface, even though, you know, it's called 'Face Fuck.’ Clever, I guess.”

Auston nods a little, shoving his hands in his pockets. His broad shoulders look even more so in the dark sweater he's wearing. “Yeah, cool.”

Mitch nods. 

Okay. They really need to leave. The only time Mitch can not awkwardly talk to Auston is on the ice or when music is blaring. 

“Ready?” Mitch asks.

His favourite band might play his favourite song, and Auston will be there and might see that someone attractive and talented likes Mitch. He's so ready for this show. 

“Mitch, you have to wear shoes,” Auston says, pointing down at Mitch’s striped socks. 

Mitch has already stepped out of his dorm. He was totally about to get in the car without shoes on.

“Right!” Mitch says, laughing it off as he throws on his Vans. That's the one thing he forgot—shoes—because Auston had to show up early. This isn’t a good sign for tonight.

The ride to the show is short, especially with Mitch trying to catch Auston up on music that he doesn't seem to show interest in. Mitch isn't sure why Auston always says “yes” to Mitch's show invitations. The best Mitch can guess is that Auston has extreme FOMO or something. Whatever. It helps fuel Mitch's dumb crush, and it only costs about $20 a month.

They're now standing outside of the venue/bar, waiting for the doors to open, and to Mitch's surprise, there's maybe only twenty people in line. “I can't believe this line isn't bigger,” Mitch says, looking down the line to see if he knows anyone. The answer is of course no.

Mitch hears Auston chuckle behind him. “I can't believe there's even a line.”

Mitch lightly shoves him, using the joke as an excuse to touch Auston's chest. Auston doesn't seem to mind though. He just smiles at him.

It's moments like this when Mitch can turn back around in line, close to Auston, and entertain the idea of Auston wrapping his arms around him from behind. It isn’t enough anymore that Auston just hugs him when they score points on the same line or when they play beer pong together at Brownie’s less epic parties. He wants Auston to hug him all the time for no reason. Is that too much to ask for?

Mitch replays that December night at Brownie’s in his head more often he should. He doesn't regret the kiss, just the timing. Kissing Auston when he was drunk means he only remembers 80% of Auston's lips on his, and that’s a true tragedy. But at that point, he felt he had held back his feelings long enough.

He'd wanted to kiss him since August 2015 when they had met at a senior guy on the team's party to celebrate the freshman players. Auston was wearing a maroon hoodie and jeans ripped in the knees, and he wasn't afraid to dance to top 40s, so Mitch knew they'd get along. It's been almost four semesters and Mitch's opinion of Auston hasn't wavered much.

Auston was a stand out on the team when preseason started their first year, and it's not that Mitch wasn't too, but he wasn't Auston Matthews. And that's fine, Mitch doesn't want to be him. He wants to play his game, contribute to team wins, and make out with the team's star l-o-l. 

But whatever, that ship has sailed. Mitch waited for Auston to come back into the room that night at Brownie’s party. He waited for a late night text or call or just something to tell him that Auston was thinking about him. Auston didn't do or say anything for days. Mitch felt embarrassed. 

A few days later, when he knew Auston would be coming to Connor's again, he asked Willy to kiss him in front of Auston to alleviate any weird tension that might be between them. Willy said yes, because Willy is a bro. Problem solved. Friendship with Auston saved.

They get up to the front door of the music venue and Mitch pulls out two twenty dollar bills. He reminds himself that even if he didn't like Auston, he'd still be paying his way to come tonight. He'd do the same for Brownie or whoever. 

“Thanks again, Mitch,” Auston says.

Mitch nods and smiles back, handing Auston his paid ticket.

They head into the venue and Mitch’s heart flutters a little when they pass by HitFight’s merch table. He stands for a second with Auston by his side, staring at the possible T-shirts, buttons, and stickers he could get. 

“What should I get, Matts?” Mitch asks, staring up at the hoodies.

“ _All_ of it would look good on you,” a voice says from behind Mitch and Auston. Mitch turns around to see who said it: Matt Martin. 

Mitch's cheeks turn a bright shade of red. He laughs and moves aside to let Matt behind the merch table. “Sorry, I wasn't calling you Matts, just my friend here whose last name is, yeah,” Mitch says, feeling momentarily out of breath.

Matt stays smirking at Mitch when he sits down at the table, putting a hand on his chin. “Wait, are you the one who was DMing me the other night?”

Mitch smiles and again tries to hide his blushing as he nods. It's not that he likes this band solely because of Matt Martin, but ever since the Auston Thing in December, Mitch has been listening to HitFight hardcore and they've helped him get hyped in the weight room. And he may or may not have put a lot of his obsessive crush energy on Matt to get over _Matts_.

Matt looks over at Auston and then back at Mitch. “So, if we play your favorite song, what do I get out of it?”

Mitch, if possible, blushes more and turns to Auston for an answer. Auston looks unimpressed. He's just jealous Matt isn't talking to him, Mitch decides. “Uh, I'll buy you a drink? After the set?”

Matt laughs, looking Mitch up and down. “Are you old enough to buy me a drink?”

Mitch tries to match his laugh and nods. “Yeah, of course.” Mitch looks back toward Auston who is still looking unimpressed. Probably because Mitch's flirting is, like, the hardest thing to watch ever.

At least Matt is amused. “All right. Your boyfriend won't mind?” He nods his head toward Auston but keeps his attention on Mitch.

“He's not my boyfriend,” Mitch says fast, maybe a little too fast. He hopes Auston can't hear his heart pumping in his ears. But then again, he kind of wants him to.

Mitch thinks he hears Matt laugh and then agree to talk with him after, but his heart is still pumping hard. He’s caught up on the fact that he said Auston wasn't his boyfriend and that he's flirting with Matt Martin from HitFight and Matt Martin from HitFight might be flirting back, and Auston must be annoyed and never want to kiss him again, even drunk. Mission Make Auston Jealous has backfired.

\---

 _He's not my boyfriend,_ Mitch says to the lead singer of the terrible band Auston's about to have to stand through for more than an hour. Matt laughs, almost like he's laughing at Auston, but Auston knows he shouldn't be as hurt as he is by that statement. He is indeed not Mitch's boyfriend.

He should not be feeling possessive right now, but this guy is looking at Mitch like he's something good he can eat, and that at least is something Auston can comment on.

Once other people come up to the merch table, Mitch moves away to go to the bar section of the venue. Drinking sounds like a great idea to Auston, honestly. 

They both down a cheap pint of beer, but Auston also does a shot of tequila before they make their way to the crowd near the stage.

“Liquor before beer, man. You're going to get sick,” Mitch warns him.

“That's the plan,” Auston jokes. He knows he'll be fine, he's done this loads of times. With any luck, he'll actually get sick and throw up on Matt Martin while he's singing.

Mitch finds them a place in the crowd to stand. Auston of course follows. It could be the fresh alcohol in his system, but his lips almost brush Mitch's ear when he leans over to whisper. “Dude, that guy was giving you the predator eye hard. What's he, like, seven years older than us? Five at least.”

“Eight actually. But I'm almost twenty, so whatever,” Mitch waves him off, staring at the stage where the first band is starting to set up.

Auston can’t stop picturing Matt all up on Mitch, not giving a damn about him. At least the guys on the team Mitch makes out with actually do care, even if it's not in a romantic way. Auston wouldn't doubt that Matt would get Mitch's number and then never text back unless it was convenient for him, and—Auston seriously needs to back off. He's not even tipsy yet, so he has no excuse for these thoughts.

He sighs and dares to look back at the merch table. Matt is gone, but no one else is over there either because this band called Morg&Reilly is about to play. 

A guy looking just a few years older comes up on stage with a guitar and a straw hat. He, Morg&Reilly, starts playing a bluegrass-sounding song. Whoever was in charge of tonight's musical lineup has questionable taste. 

Mitch turns around to grin up at Auston, and fuck. Auston has a great view of Mitch's eyelashes, and that might be a weird thing to like about a person, but Auston loves staring at them whenever he can. Especially in blue lighting like this when they look more defined with Mitch's hair and eyebrows and even his eyes. It's really unfair. 

Zach decides now is the perfect time to text him. _Any luck yet?_

Auston's not jealous. _Lead singer of band we're seeing fucked Mitch with his eyes and now I'm drinking._

He can hear Zach laughing all the way back at their apartment. _Remember he kissed you first. Gotta mean he at least wants to fuck. Go for itttt_

Auston sighs and vows to stop drinking for the rest of the night. Otherwise, there's a chance he'd get drunk enough to actually listen to Hyman.

Morg&Reilly sings about a girl back home who he hates to miss, and Auston can somewhat relate. Mitch goes home to visit his family a lot, and when he does, Auston gets stuck hanging with Zach and Brownie who have a weird friends with benefits thing going on. The worst part is that feelings are most definitely involved, and Auston envies them. He wants that with someone. 

Instead, he just comes to shows with Mitch to watch him now flirt with hot dudes in bands. Life is perfect.

It's not Morg&Reilly's high octave change that pulls Auston out of his thoughts, it's Mitch. It’s always Mitch.

 _You okay?_ Mitch mouths during a song.

Auston smiles and nods, staring back at the stage.

He needs to do something.

\---

After Morg&Reilly is thankfully a punk band called The Gardiners. Auston asks Mitch if he wants a drink before they play, and yes, Mitch does. He tells Auston he wants a shot of something, anything, and Auston heads out of the crowd to get him one.

Two shots of vodka and a couple songs later, Mitch joins the mosh pit that forms for The Gardiners and smiles when he sees Auston back up near the front, trying to join in too. He ends up losing him in the crowd again but Mitch finds his way back to him just as HitFight’s road crew is setting up. Auston's got a drink in hand. Of what, Mitch isn't sure. He takes it and says Auston owes him for the ticket anyway.

They're up toward the front now and Mitch has a great view of where Matt will be on the mic. Auston is behind him, slightly to the left, and smells a little like citrus. It might be from a beer that spilled on him during The Gardiners, but luckily Auston isn't complaining. It's a familiar scent to Mitch, so he relaxes a little, willing himself to feel just a bit more drunk than he is from the shots he's had.

When the band comes on, Matt stares directly down at Mitch and winks. Mitch is desperate and easy, so yeah, sue him, he's on cloud nine now. Auston is behind him, Matt is in front, and not much could be better.

Matt plays a power chord and leans into the microphone. “Hey, everybody, thanks for coming out. We're HitFight and this one's called ‘Wasted Spaghetti.’”

Mitch hears Auston chuckle behind him at the song title just before the music starts, but then there's no more time to laugh, because, _ow_ , the mosh pit has started and Auston gets shoved hard up against him.

“Sorry,” Mitch thinks he hears Auston mumble. It's hard to hear over the instruments.

The rest of the show goes like this:  
Mitch has plans of getting in the pit, but he doesn't want to leave his spot up front where he can sing Matt's lyrics back at Matt to show him he's fuckable or something dumb like that. 

Auston keeps getting shoved against him as people toss themselves around the pit, but instead of moving out of the way, he just stays up against Mitch. 

During the third or fourth song, Mitch knows he's sweating, but he doesn't feel like moving because re: Auston's up against him and that's cool.

At one point, he feels Auston’s right hand clutch his hip. Mitch is startled for a second, but then he rationalizes that Auston only did it to steady himself against the mosh pit. 

By the sixth song though, Mitch is drunk enough to think Auston is purposely keeping a firm hand on him. He wonders for a second if Auston's hand will leave a bruise there. He hopes it does. He also thinks Matt might be staring at Auston a lot, but he knows he's probably just imagining things.

HitFight doesn’t end up playing “Face Fuck,” but enough of Mitch's favourite songs are played during the set that toward the end, he leaves Auston's side without much thought, the music willing him to join the pit.

He is a little bummed that they didn't play his song, but after the show, Mitch decides he'll try to talk to Matt anyway. He might also be exhausted because it's late and he has an exam to write tomorrow afternoon, but he doesn't want to seem rude for offering a drink and then not delivering, despite Matt not holding up his end of the bargain.

When he gets closer to the bar though, Matt has his arm wrapped around some blonde haired guy who doesn't look much older than him. It shouldn't sting, but it does, because Mitch is a hopeless romantic. The dude Matt's with is model-like, kind of like Willie, so Mitch can only stand there and look sad. He's drunk, so that's his excuse for feeling not great.

“They didn't play your song. You don't owe him,” Auston says, coming up from behind. He clasps a hand on Mitch's shoulder for a moment, and Mitch wants to lean into it, but he knows that would be a dumb move. No one at this venue, surely not Matt or Auston, want much to do with him.

Mitch follows Auston out of the venue, realizing when he hits the fresh air that he's a little more sober than he felt inside. Still, he shouldn't drive. He hands his keys to Auston without saying anything. Auston says he's good to drive, so that works for Mitch.

He plays the show over in his head as they walk back to the lot that Mitch's car is parked in. That's when he realizes. “Wait, how'd you know they didn't play the song I wanted?”

Auston shrugs. “Because I've heard that song before. It's hard to miss a song that repeats 'you're just a face fuck’ over and over again.”

Mitch’s eyebrows furrow. “Yeah, but I don't think I've ever played that one in the car before.”

Auston blushes a little. “Well, when I knew we were going to see them, I listened to some of their stuff on iTunes.”

There Auston goes again. Doing these vaguely boyfriend-esque things like listening to Mitch's favourite bands, going to the shows with him, etc.

Mitch sighs as he plops into the passenger seat of the car. He feels drained all of the sudden. “I was so close, Matts. Just one night is all I wanted.”

“With that guy? Pretty sure we could still go back in there and you could ask him to go in a bathroom stall. He'd say yes,” Auston says, tone unreadable as he steps into the driver's side.

Mitch's laugh is half-hearted. He knows Auston is probably right, but then again, he does not know that. It's not even what he wants anyway. 

He watches Auston start the car. He looks so soft and nice for driving Mitch home. That's what Mitch wants—Auston driving his car.

Mitch sighs again. “No, that's not what I meant. Just want someone to like me for once.” He knows he sounds whiny, but whatever. “Guess I got my hopes up too much by those DMs with Matt, right?”

Auston doesn't sound as tired. If anything, he sounds on edge. “If you were honestly trying to get the lead singer of a band to like you, I think you might be looking for love in the wrong place.”

Mitch shrugs to himself, watching the street lights disappear one by one as they drive down the highway back toward campus. _Of course I’m looking for love in the wrong place. I’m looking for it in you_.

“Mitch?” Auston asks when Mitch’s been uncharacteristically quiet for a while. 

Here goes nothing. Mitch sighs. “But even when I try to look in the right places, it doesn't help. I'm not horrible looking, am I?”

Auston is quiet for longer than Mitch would prefer. “No, you're not.” He says it seriously enough that Mitch believes him. 

Maybe it's the alcohol going through his system, but what Auston says makes Mitch angry. The next thing he asks just kind of comes out. “Then why wouldn't you kiss me back at Brownie's? I would have like sucked your dick that night, dude.”

He doesn't want to see Auston's look of disgust or confusion. He's sad and mad and not glad. 

“Mitch…”

That just makes Mitch more frustrated. “I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have kissed you, but it just felt like my one chance to do it, thinking maybe you'd be into it. You're super hard to read and I thought since you were taking care of me that night, I don't know. Forget it. I'm sorry. Don't hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” Auston asks. He can fuck off with that soft tone.

“Because I kissed you and you're not into me and I almost ruined our friendship. I don't know. You're really important to me, Auston. But you're hard to not fall for, just so you know. I'm trying.”

Mitch doesn't realize they've pulled into a Tim Hortons parking lot until Auston turns the car off. He's smiling. What the fuck? 

“Hold on. Are you saying you like me?” Auston asks.

Mitch is going to murder him if he has to explain it more. “Yes. Like you didn't already know?”

“No, Mitch. I didn't. The next time I saw you after that kiss, you were making out with Willie. What was I supposed to think?”

Mitch is burning up, trying to remember his exact thoughts from December. “You were supposed to think I was really drunk and didn't mean anything by it, obviously. Unless you liked me, then you would have asked about it. But I didn't want to ruin our friendship because of me.”

“That makes zero sense. First, you could never ruin our friendship over a drunk kiss. Second, wouldn't you think if I liked you too and then saw you making out with Willie that the kiss obviously meant nothing?”

Mitch is smiling now. “I don't know, Auston. Why can't you read my fucking mind?”

They both laugh.

Auston sounds awake. “Dude, I'm like… I think I've liked you since the first time we hung out outside of practice, but it wasn't until you kissed me that I realized for real, I guess.”

“Why didn't you kiss back then?” Mitch asks, mind momentarily blown.

“Because you were super drunk and I didn't want to take advantage of you? I don't know, I panicked.”

Mitch groans. “So we've both been sulking for months?”

“Communication is key, I guess.”

“Do you want to make out?” Mitch asks, amusing himself with his bluntness.

Auston’s smiling at him and it's the best thing Mitch has ever seen. “I do, but I'm also really hungry,” Auston says. “Can we get food first?”

If Mitch wasn't drunk, he'd probably pout, but, “One hundred percent. …But turn the car back on and go through the drive-thru. It'll be quicker.”

Mitch ends up eating his muffin in record timing in the parking lot, but he has to wait for Auston to eat his scone.

“Who gets a fucking scone at one in the morning?” Mitch asks.

“Guys who like Mitch Marner, I guess.”

Mitch shuts up. 

When they do finally start making out, Mitch is 110% sure he'll remember this kiss. Auston’s thumb goes to rub down his jawline and he's smiling against Mitch's lips. “You're so not horrible looking, Marns. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Mitch laughs and pulls Auston closer to him over the console. They kiss hard, and then lazily, and then Mitch sees that it's 2 a.m., so they should head home. They both have exams in the afternoon.

Mitch turns on his Google Play and HitFight starts playing on shuffle. He quickly turns something else on, something quieter. “Remind me to delete them from my library.”

Auston laughs, turning out of the Tim Hortons parking lot. “I don't know. Matt Martin kept looking at you, but then he noticed I was glaring at him, and I think I scared him off.”

Mitch gasps. “So it's your fault they didn't play my favourite song? Auston Matthews intimidates that much?”

Auston keeps his eyes on the road but reaches out to shove Mitch. “Noo, I was trying not to care, but you should have seen him.”

Mitch takes the hand Auston tried to shove him with and laces their fingers together. Feeling Auston's fingers pressed against his shouldn't be this exciting, but Mitch isn't complaining. “Wow, I don't think I can bring you to shows anymore. If you're just going to intimidate the band members, all of whom will want to fuck me, I think I'll be going alone, thanks.”

Auston laughs and gives Mitch's hand a light squeeze. 

“I'm not joking,” Mitch says playfully once they fall into a comfortable silence. He pulls his phone out and sees he's got a new DM on Twitter.

It's from Matt Martin.

**Hey mitch! Sorry we didn't play the song you wanted. Bozie’s fingers couldn't take it tonight. But I hope you had fun ;) Your guy seemed happy we didn't hang out after. Drinks on me next time? xo**

Mitch bursts out laughing and shoves his phone in Auston's face. “Want to have a threesome with Matt Martin when they're back on tour?”

Auston waits until he's at a stop light to read Mitch's phone. His expression is priceless. “Fuck this guy, oh my god.”

Mitch tries not to cackle. “I don't know, he seems hyper observant. I didn't notice you liking me for almost two years but he did in thirty seconds. I think we could learn a lot from him.” Auston gives him a look, but it only makes Mitch lean over to kiss his cheek. “Relax, Matts.”

“No threesomes,” Auston says once Mitch has gone quiet. He's smiling, but Mitch gets the feeling that they'll be having the “relationship” talk soon. They're almost back to Auston's apartment where Mitch assumes he's staying, at least until he's sober to drive home.

Mitch smirks. “But twosomes, eh? You and me?”

“Oh my god. Maybe not now.”

Mitch's frown goes away as soon as Auston's kissing him again.


End file.
